scholarly journals Co-pyrolysis of South African bituminous coal and Scenedesmus microalgae: Kinetics and synergistic effects study

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothwell Nyoni ◽  
Sifundo Duma ◽  
Lukanyo Bolo ◽  
Shaka Shabangu ◽  
Shanganyane P. Hlangothi

AbstractIn this work, the co-pyrolysis of coal and algae is explored with special emphasis on decomposition kinetics and the possibility of the existence of synergistic effects. Modelling and kinetics analysis based approaches were used for the investigation of the existence of synergistic effects. The co-pyrolysis kinetics was studied using the model-free, Coats–Redfern integral method. The kinetics were evaluated for 1st and 2nd order reaction models. Results reveal that Scenedesmus microalgae is characterised by a two stage decomposition process that occurs at temperature ranges of 200–400 °C and 500–700 °C with activation energy of 145.5 and 127.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Bituminous coal has a two stage, slow decomposition process that occurs at temperature ranges of 400–700 °C and above 750 °C with an activation energy of 81.8 and 649.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Furthermore, co-pyrolysis of coal and microalgae is characterised by three stages whose kinetics are dominated by the pyrolysis of the individual materials. For the studied range of coal/algae ratios, the three pyrolysis stages occur in the approximate temperature ranges of 200–400 °C, 430–650 °C and above 750 °C, with activation energies in the ranges of 131–138, 72–78 and 864.5–1235 kJ/mol, respectively. Modelling and kinetics study showed that there is strong evidence of interactions between coal and microalgae that manifest as synergistic effects especially in the second and third stages of decomposition.

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil Kumar Varma ◽  
Prasenjit Mondal

The present study was conducted to investigate the physicochemical properties and pyrolysis kinetics of sugarcane bagasse (SB). The physiochemical properties of SB were determined to examine its potential for pyrolysis. The physiochemical properties such as proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, heating values, lignocellulosic composition, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of SB were investigated. The pyrolysis experiments were conducted in a nonisothermal thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) to understand the thermal degradation behavior of SB. The activation energy (Ea) of SB pyrolysis was calculated by model-free Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) and Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW) methods. Average values of activation energy determined through KAS and OFW methods are found as 91.64 kJ/mol and 104.43 kJ/mol, respectively. Variation in the activation energy with degree of conversion was observed, which shows that pyrolysis is a complex process composed of several reactions. Coats–Redfern method was used to calculate the pre-exponential factor and reaction order. Conversion of SB due to heat treatment computed by using the kinetic parameters is found to be in good agreement with the experimental conversion data, and the maximum error limit between the experimental and predicted conversions is 8.5% for 5 °C/min, 6.0% for 10 °C/min, and 11.6% for 20 °C/min. The current investigation proves the suitability of SB as a potential feedstock for pyrolysis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1070-1072 ◽  
pp. 146-151
Author(s):  
Xin Ping Yan ◽  
Ji Song Bai ◽  
Xiong Zhou ◽  
Shun Hong Lin

In this work, the pyrolysis behavior of bituminous coal (BC) wheat straw (WS) and the blends were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. It was found that the main thermal degradation stage of BC and WS lies in different temperature range and there is nearly no overlapping. Interaction was observed during the co-pyrolysis process of BC and WS. At high temperatures, the volatile releasing is slightly inhibited by WS addition. Coats-Redfern method was used to analyze the apparent kinetic parameters. The results indicated that both the two reaction stages during pyrolysis process are well correlated by first-order reaction. The variation trend of activation energy value further confirm the synergistic effects between BC and WS. The experimental results may provide useful data for co-thermochemical utilization of biomass with coal.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3977
Author(s):  
Magdalena Matusiak ◽  
Radosław Ślęzak ◽  
Stanisław Ledakowicz

The main purpose of this paper was to compare the pyrolysis kinetics of three types of energy crops: Miscanthus giganteus, Sida hermaphrodita, and Sorghum Moench. Studies were conducted in thermobalance. Feedstock samples were heated up from ambient temperature to 600 °C under an inert argon atmosphere. Three heating rates of β = 5, 10, and 20 °C/min were applied. Reactions occurring in the given temperature ranges were grouped together into so-called lumps identified by the deconvolution of derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) curves that corresponded to biomass compositions (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin). For the estimation of the activation energy and pre-exponential factor, the Friedman and Ozawa–Flynn–Wall methods were used. The final kinetic parameters were determined by nonlinear regression assuming that thermal decomposition proceeded via three parallel independent reactions of the nth order. The activation energy of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin was determined to be in the range of 92.9–97.7, 190.1–192.5, and 170–175.2 kJ/mol, respectively. The reaction order was in the range of 3.35–3.99 for hemicellulose, 1.38–1.93 for cellulose, and 3.97–3.99 for lignin. The obtained results allow us to estimate the pyrolytic potential of energy crops selected for this study, and can be used in designing efficient pyrolizers for these materials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhitong Yao ◽  
Shaoqi Yu ◽  
Weiping Su ◽  
Weihong Wu ◽  
Junhong Tang ◽  
...  

Thermal treatment offers advantages of significant volume reduction and energy recovery for the polyurethane foam from waste refrigerators. In this work, the pyrolysis kinetics of polyurethane foam was investigated using the model-fitting, model-free and distributed activation energy model methods. The thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the polyurethane foam decomposition could be divided into three stages with temperatures of 38°C–400°C, 400°C–550°C and 550°C–1000°C. Peak temperatures for the major decomposition stage (<400°C) were determined as 324°C, 342°C and 344°C for heating rates of 5, 15 and 25 K min-1, respectively. The activation energy ( Eα) from the Friedman, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and Tang methods increased with degree of conversion ( α) in the range of 0.05 to 0.5. The coefficients from the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method were larger and the resulted Eα values fell into the range of 163.980–328.190 kJ mol-1 with an average of 206.099 kJ mol-1. For the Coats–Redfern method, the diffusion models offered higher coefficients, but the E values were smaller than that from the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method. The Eα values derived from the distributed activation energy model method were determined as 163.536–334.231 kJ mol-1, with an average of 206.799 kJ mol-1. The peak of activation energy distribution curve was located at 205.929 kJ mol-1, consistent with the thermogravimetric results. The Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and distributed activation energy model methods were more reliable for describing the polyurethane foam pyrolysis process.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1451
Author(s):  
Soyoung Han ◽  
Yong-Chul Jang ◽  
Yeon-Seok Choi ◽  
Sang-Kyu Choi

The separated and sorted combustibles from automobile shredder residue (ASR) can be pyrolyzed and used as a heat source or liquefied to produce materials with added value. In this study, the thermal decomposition properties of ASR were determined and thermal kinetic studies were performed. Four types of raw materials were separated from ASR and mixed at a constant ratio: 38.5 wt.% of plastic; 31.6 wt.% of fiber; 17.3 wt.% of sponge; and 12.3 wt.% of rubber. Pyrolysis kinetics analysis was carried out using the Thermogravimetric analysis-derivative thermogravimetry (TGA-DTG) technique and activation energy were calculated by differential and integral isoconversional model methods, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO), Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), and Friedman. Thermogravimetric analysis was performed under nitrogen with four temperature rate conditions from room temperature to 800 °C. In the thermal degradation profile, peaks representing mass loss rates were observed for each sample at different temperature ranges. It was observed that the final mass reduction temperature in the mixed samples was lower than in the individual samples. The activation energies of plastics and rubbers were 105.39 kJ/mol and 115.20 kJ/mol respectively. The sponge foams and fibers were 172.59 kJ/mol and 160.30 kJ/mol respectively. The mixed sample had an activation energy value of 159.56 kJ/mol. The basic physicochemical and pyrolysis characteristics of ASR were examined to be used as basic data for the recycling of ASR for future pyrolysis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prevan Moodley ◽  
Francois Rabie

Many gay couples engage in nonmonogamous relationships. Ideas about nonmonogamy have historically been theorised as individual pathology and indicating relational distress. Unlike mixed-sex couples, boundaries for gay couples are often not determined by sexual exclusivity. These relationships are built along a continuum of open and closed, and sexual exclusivity agreements are not restricted to binaries, thus requiring innovation and re-evaluation. Three white South African gay couples were each jointly interviewed about their open relationship, specifically about how this is negotiated. In contrast to research that uses the individual to investigate this topic, this study recruited dyads. The couples recalled the initial endorsement of heteronormative romantic constructions, after which they shifted to psychological restructuring. The dyad, domesticated through the stock image of a white picket fence, moved to a renewed arrangement, protected by “rules” and imperatives. Abbreviated grounded theory strategies led to a core category, “co-creating porous boundaries”, and two themes. First, the couple jointly made heteronormative ideals porous and, second, they reconfigured the relationship through dyadic protection. The overall relationship ideology associated with the white picket fence remained intact despite the micro-innovations through which the original heteronormative patterning was reconfigured.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghulam Ali ◽  
Jan Nisar ◽  
Munawar Iqbal ◽  
Afzal Shah ◽  
Mazhar Abbas ◽  
...  

Due to a huge increase in polymer production, a tremendous increase in municipal solid waste is observed. Every year the existing landfills for disposal of waste polymers decrease and the effective recycling techniques for waste polymers are getting more and more important. In this work pyrolysis of waste polystyrene was performed in the presence of a laboratory synthesized copper oxide. The samples were pyrolyzed at different heating rates that is, 5°Cmin−1, 10°Cmin−1, 15°Cmin−1 and 20°Cmin−1 in a thermogravimetric analyzer in inert atmosphere using nitrogen. Thermogravimetric data were interpreted using various model fitting (Coats–Redfern) and model free methods (Ozawa–Flynn–Wall, Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose and Friedman). Thermodynamic parameters for the reaction were also determined. The activation energy calculated applying Coats–Redfern, Ozawa–Flynn–Wall, Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose and Friedman models were found in the ranges 105–148.48 kJmol−1, 99.41–140.52 kJmol−1, 103.67–149.15 kJmol−1 and 99.93–141.25 kJmol−1, respectively. The lowest activation energy for polystyrene degradation in the presence of copper oxide indicates the suitability of catalyst for the decomposition reaction to take place at lower temperature. Moreover, the obtained kinetics and thermodynamic parameters would be very helpful in determining the reaction mechanism of the solid waste in a real system.


2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (05) ◽  
pp. 1385-1403 ◽  
Author(s):  
KITAE SOHN ◽  
ILLOONG KWON

Trust was found to promote entrepreneurship in the US. We investigated whether this was true in a developing country, Indonesia. We failed to replicate this; this failure was true whether trust was estimated at the individual or community level or whether ordinary least squares (OLS) or two stage least squares (2SLS) was employed. We reconciled the difference between our results and those for the US by arguing that the weak enforcement of property rights in developing countries and the consequent hold-up problem make it more efficient for entrepreneurs to produce generic goods than relationship-specific goods—producing generic goods does not depend on trust.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-54
Author(s):  
P. Conrad Kotze ◽  
Jan K. Coetzee

Transformation has come to be a defining characteristic of contemporary societies, while it has rarely been studied in a way that gives acknowledgement to both its societal effects and the experience thereof by the individual. This article discusses a recent study that attempts to do just that. The everyday life of a South African is explored within the context of changes that can be linked, more or less directly, to those that have characterized South Africa as a state since the end of apartheid in 1994. The study strives to avoid the pitfalls associated with either an empirical or solely constructivist appreciation of this phenomenon, but rather represents an integral onto-epistemological framework for the practice of sociological research. The illustrated framework is argued to facilitate an analysis of social reality that encompasses all aspects thereof, from the objectively given to the intersubjectively constructed and subjectively constituted. While not requiring extensive development on the theoretical or methodological level, the possibility of carrying out such an integral study is highlighted as being comfortably within the capabilities of sociology as a discipline. While the article sheds light on the experience of transformation, it is also intended to contribute to the contemporary debate surrounding the current “ontological turn” within the social sciences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Platzer ◽  
Thomas Reutterer

AI-based data synthesis has seen rapid progress over the last several years and is increasingly recognized for its promise to enable privacy-respecting high-fidelity data sharing. This is reflected by the growing availability of both commercial and open-sourced software solutions for synthesizing private data. However, despite these recent advances, adequately evaluating the quality of generated synthetic datasets is still an open challenge. We aim to close this gap and introduce a novel holdout-based empirical assessment framework for quantifying the fidelity as well as the privacy risk of synthetic data solutions for mixed-type tabular data. Measuring fidelity is based on statistical distances of lower-dimensional marginal distributions, which provide a model-free and easy-to-communicate empirical metric for the representativeness of a synthetic dataset. Privacy risk is assessed by calculating the individual-level distances to closest record with respect to the training data. By showing that the synthetic samples are just as close to the training as to the holdout data, we yield strong evidence that the synthesizer indeed learned to generalize patterns and is independent of individual training records. We empirically demonstrate the presented framework for seven distinct synthetic data solutions across four mixed-type datasets and compare these then to traditional data perturbation techniques. Both a Python-based implementation of the proposed metrics and the demonstration study setup is made available open-source. The results highlight the need to systematically assess the fidelity just as well as the privacy of these emerging class of synthetic data generators.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document